Posts Tagged ‘playa tent’

I pondered goggles last year (here) and ended up borrowing some – they’re on my must-have list. It was very nice to be able to move freely in a whiteout. I might even wear them more often, just to help my eyes out, this year. I was really, really hoping to get Lasik for the burn season, but hell. Money.

This style is exactly what I’m looking for, large area of vision and fold-up. Gonna keep an eye out for something, cheaper, though…I’m not buying stuff like that until AFTER I get necessities taken care of.

Like getting TO BRC…I’m mildly bummed I missed Stag Camp registration, but I bet if I asked pretty please, they’d squeeze me in. My top choice now is smack on the Esp, one factor which manages to negate the otherwise Epic nature of the deal…unfortunately, looking at goggles has led me to tents. More tents. Making me tense. Har har.

I generally avoid more commercial-name tents but here’s a Coleman and Swiss Gear that caught my eye

“easy to set up” and “lightweight” sound good, plus it looks like I could open the fly, there, to stick a fan in. I found it pretty easy to sleep in the day, when there was a fan…but my dome sure had a lot more air flow. I don’t know how stuffy a smaller tent like that would be…this one seems fairly similar:

Nearly every one of the 5 outta 5 star comments talk about how well it prevents cramps. I don’t really need something like that…I just don’t want to be thirsty.

This tent seems alright…only three poles? Fantastic.

That exclamation point amuses me highly. It’s definitely taller than I really need, but looks pretty easy to set up.

LL Bean sells it, no customer reviews there, either (cheaper than REI, too). GOD why can’t I get a job as a tent tester?? Looks like the slightly smaller version has only two poles

How would height affect sturdiness in wind? I pretty much don’t see how, full of my stuff holding it down, any tent would fly away.

This “Freedom Tent” just looks cool.

Apparently, it was designed for people “with disabilities.”

Few innovations in camping have ever been met with such acclaim as the Eureka!® Freedom tent. The collaborative effort of Eureka!® with Blue Sky Designs, a design firm noted for its work in the biomedical and rehabilitation fields, the Freedom was hailed “one of the truly unique new products”* by industry reporters during its unveiling in August 2004.

Tents. Tents, tents and more tents. Perhaps the hardest thing to decide upon, and the most blogged about. Some women like shoes, I like tents. Though I ended up with a perfect tent (because it was a freakin’ space station DOME)

, IF I return to the playa (yesyes, “when,” whatever) I shan’t take it. It is a beast and a bear.

…it was perfect, though. A nice breeze to help me sleep. Ample space for changing, peeing, vomiting my brains out…felt very secure in the wind storms.

Would have been great for people to hang out in, during said windstorms, if anybody had taken me up on my offer.

Anyways. Back to tents.

I went looking for “vargo” and found some on Ebay:

Outwell Alderney Pop Up Tent 2009

It looks cool! I like the stripes. It has a door on each end, so you could roll one up for the breeze. I don’t see where you stake it, though – and I’m sure it is as small as it looks. If there was a holding space for gear and food, it could work.

I”ve lost the descriptions for these. Like all tents, though, my first thought is “Suffocation.” With the rain fly on, no air will circulate. My little fan and fresh air was key in sleeping in the heat of the morning. The first one looks sleek, too, like it’d hold up well in a wind storm.

Wind storm! I loved walking around in the white out.

Next time I would definately change out my contacts and bring extra eye drops. One camp had a lovely eye wash station, but of course it does no good for contact wearers. Hopefully, in the next few months I’ll be getting lasik, eliminating the need for all that hoo-ha. It’d be sooo awesome…I’d be more likely to sleep in other camps, too, without my eyeballs to worry about. Curl up in front of PEX.

Anyways. Windstorms. A simple pair of goggles and my dust mask = A-OK. Lots of people thing goggles and respirators are for sissies, but I enjoyed being able to see and breathe 100% – I’m talking about the whiteouts, the serious storms. Most of the time I just had the bandanna, but for the can’tseeinfrontofyourface (it does happen!), the respirator was bitchin’.

Back to tents.

Or teepees/tipis. Sure, they look bad-ass, but how much more room do they give? I’d say none. The only advantage would be how cool you look. well, and maybe ease of set-up/lack of poles. Most of them do one pole in the middle and then you tie it down a lot. I’ve seen tipis (real ones) go up. It isn’t easy – or a one-person job.

I think the main issue would be the same as an EZ Up: aluminum/alloy legs. Read: will bend and break in wind. Solution: stick rebar up ’em.

I need a freakin’ sponsor!!

I learned a new word: glamping. I’m guessing “glamourous camping.” I hate the word. Luxurious camping – obviously, I am not a string up a hammock and call it a campsite kinda gal. But I don’t think paying people to set up tents and start fires for me qualifies as camping.

Yep, smart me and my etymology skills. Glamping. Every bit as stupid as the concept, and the people who do it.

“The Trango 4 tent is an indestructible weather fortress. On the Southern Patagonia Ice Cap, it withstood four days of hurricane force winds that drove us to our knees, yet the tent survived without a scratch. Beautifully constructed, it’s a tent you can trust your life to.”